PRESIDENT IS WELL AFTER OPERATION TO EASE PROSTATE

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President Reagan underwent what White House officials described as ''very routine'' surgery today to relieve obstruction from an enlarged prostate in an operation that lasted ''about an hour'' at Bethesda Naval Hospital.

Preliminary tests showed no evidence of cancer in the prostate tissue that was removed and tonight the President was reported in ''excellent'' condition.

Mr. Reagan's political strength over the last six years has depended in large part on his remarkable vigor and youthful appearance for a man his age. All indications from the procedures and tests in his hospitalization are that he remains in good health. However, crucial CAT scan X-rays of his abdomen Tuesday could tell whether the bowel cancer that was removed 18 months ago has spread silently elsewhere in his body. Discharge This Week Seen

Mr. Reagan, who will turn 76 next month, is expected to be discharged from the hospital later this week for further recuperation at the White House.

The President was not sedated before or after he received a low spinal anesthetic and was awake for the entire operation, which began at 8:15 A.M., the White House spokesman, Larry Speakes, said. He said Mr. Reagan awoke on his own at 6 A.M., adding that the President was ''joking when he went in and when he came out of'' the operation.

Spinal anesthesia temporarily numbs and paralyzes the lower body. The effects wore off shortly after noon, according to the White House.

''The procedure went very smoothly,'' Col. John Hutton of the Army, the White House physician, said of the operation, which was performed by Dr. David C. Utz, a urologist from the Mayo Clinic. In a statement, Dr. Hutton added, ''There was nothing out of the ordinary.'' On Job After Operation

Shortly after the operation, Mr. Reagan signed correspondence and reviewed his daily intelligence report, Mr. Speakes said. Mr. Reagan's wife, Nancy, and the White House chief of staff, Donald T. Regan, visited the President in his hospital room. The Reagan children had spoken with Mrs. Reagan, the White House said.

Mrs. Reagan had dinner with the President this evening. It was not disclosed whether Mr. Reagan had eaten solid food. She said her husband was feeling fine and spending his time in bed ''working and reading.''

Pathology tests done Sunday night showed no evidence of cancer in any of the four small polyps removed from Mr. Reagan's colon earlier in the day.

The operation Mr. Reagan had today is called a trans-urethral prostatectomy or trans-urethral resection. Urologists say that generally it is unusual for patients to have pain in the first few hours or days after the operation.

Mr. Speakes said that Mr. Reagan had taken no pain medication after the prostate surgery and had expressed no need for any. ''If he does,'' Mr. Speakes said, ''it would be nothing more than Tylenol or aspirin.''

Physicians not connected with Mr. Reagan's case expressed surprise that the doctors would prescribe aspirin, which can impede the clotting process, for someone who had just undergone prostate surgery and who is at risk of bleeding. Bleeding is a common complication of trans-urethral prostatectomy surgery.

Dr. Russell W. Lavengood, a leading urologist who practices in New York City, said he would not prescribe aspirin in such a situation but would prescribe Tylenol or codeine if a mild pain-killer were needed and depending on the circumstances.

Generally doctors warn patients not to take aspirin for a week or so before surgery to prevent the possibility of a bleeding complication. Transfusion Not Required

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Mr. Speakes said Mr. Reagan did not require a blood transfusion, though he had donated one unit of his own blood before the operation. Mr. Reagan did not suffer fluid overload, a problem that can uncommonly result from excessive absorption of a cleansing fluid that is needed in the operation and suffered no other complications from the prostate surgery, Mr. Speakes said.

Dr. Utz, who was assisted by another urologist, Dr. John Randolf Beahrs from St. Paul, removed 23.5 grams of tissue from Mr. Reagan's prostate. Portions of the prostate remain because it is impossible to remove the entire gland through a trans-urethral prostatectomy.

Some of the tissue removed from Mr. Reagan's prostate was frozen in a laboratory and examined under a microscope by Dr. George M. Farrow, a pathologist from the Mayo Clinic, and Comdr. James Cotelingum of the Navy, a pathologist at Bethesda Naval Medical Center. Preliminary tests of what doctors call frozen sections showed no evidence of cancer. A final report on the prostate tissue from Dr. Farrow and Dr. Cotelingum is expected on Tuesday. Nature of the Surgery

In the trans-urethral prostatectomy, prostate tissue is removed by an electric wire loop that is attached to the tip of a long tubular instrument called a resectoscope. The resectoscope is inserted through the urethral opening to the prostate, which is a walnut-size gland that exists only in men.

The prostate tissue is removed as shavings, or what urologists call chips. There are scores of chips and they are of varying size. All are routinely sent to the pathology department for examination under a microscope.

However, pathologists customarily examine only a random selection of the chips. It is not known if the pathologists will examine all the chips removed from Mr. Reagan's prostate.

In about 10 percent of operations for an enlarged prostate, pathologists find cancerous cells. However, the finding of cancerous cells is not necessarily dangerous because such cancers can be very slow growing. Often no treatment is given for this type of prostate cancer. Catheter for Day or Two

As is standard after this type of surgery is completed, Dr. Utz's team inserted a catheter, or tube, through Mr. Reagan's urethra to drain urine from the bladder. The catheter will remain in place for another day or two until normal flow returns and the doctors decide to remove it.

Infection is also a common complication of trans-urethral prostatectomy surgery. For that reason Mr. Reagan began taking antibiotics before he entered the hospital. He will continue to receive antibiotics ''for a few weeks'' after he leaves the hospital, Mr. Speakes said.

Mr. Reagan is being charged for his hospital stay at the standard interagency Government rate that is provided to members of Congress and other Government officials, Mr. Speakes said. In 1985, when Mr. Reagan had colon surgery, the rate was $423 a day.

Mr. Reagan will pay out of his own pocket for the costs of his medical bills that are not covered by his Blue Cross-Blue Shield policy from the California Legislature's retirement system. Although Mr. Reagan is eligible for coverage under the Federal Medicare health plan, he chose not to use those benefits, Mr. Speakes said. Equipment Flown to Center

Mr. Speakes declined to discuss the fees, if any, that the doctors, who flew with their surgical equipment, would charge Mr. Reagan for the prostate suregry because it was ''a personal matter.''

Mr. Speakes said that the doctors ''are certainly not being flown at Government expense.''

On Sunday, Mr. Reagan underwent an exercise stress test, which is one way to detect coronary artery disease. When Mr. Speakes was asked if Mr. Reagan had suffered any pain or changes on his electrocardiogram as it was monitored in the stress test, he said the White House ''may not be able to give that much detail.''

Asked why no doctor appeared at the news briefings, which were held at the White House, Mr. Speakes said, ''We just didn't think it would be necessary.''

A version of this article appears in print on January 6, 1987, on Page A00001 of the National edition with the headline: PRESIDENT IS WELL AFTER OPERATION TO EASE PROSTATE. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe